Archives for December 2009

As we come to the final days of 2009 I just had to say thanks. Thanks for sacrificing your Sunday worship in order for parents to have undistracted worship time. Thanks for recruiting more workers/teachers than any other person in the church. Thanks for making sure our children are taught about our Savior rather than just taken care of. Thanks for being patient when parents have forgotten to pick up their kids while catching up with friends or the pastor goes long today. Thanks for making sure our kids are always safe, physically and emotionally. The list could go on and on.

Children’s Ministers are too often the unsung heroes of the church. Statistics show most people make their decision to follow Christ at children. This makes you the most important staff member of your church.

So today, as we say goodbye to 2009 know you are loved and appreciated!

PS, If you attend CentriKid thanks for trusting us with your kids. We will never take that lightly.

Are you planning to attend the Children’s Pastors Conference in Nashville this January? If so, our office team would love to connect with you. We’ll meet up for dinner on us (location is TBA, depending on the number of attendees) on Tuesday, January 5 at 6:30pm, somewhere close to the Conference. Join Jeremy, Lance, Andy, Meredith, and other camp friends!

When 4 little boys appeared at the door to a Romany Bible study gathering one December morning last year in Brno, Czech Republic, God spoke a message of hope.

The boys had met and played American football (or a version as they understood it) with our group of college students the previous two days, so when they showed up to the gym on Sunday morning to find it empty, they set out in search of their new friends. As they walked into the 2-room building serving as the “church”, they were greeted with smiles from both Romany and Americans alike. The boys sat with the rest of us as two of the American guys they had grown to admire shared what Christ was doing in their lives. Afterwards we learned that these Romany boys had never set foot in the building before, meaning these were 4 more lives to which the missionaries were now connected; more open doors for life-change. God was faithful in using a simple game of football to spark relationships that may ultimately connect these boys back to Himself.

The American college students were Fuge and CentriKid camp staffers that had the opportunity to put action to their faith thanks to the money raised by campers and staffers over the past 4 years. Despite being the final year for the formal partnership with the Roma through the IMB, I can’t help but think that of the thousands of hearts exposed to the Roma, this may be a lifelong venture for some. To learn more about the outreach to the Roma, read more stories or get ideas for giving and praying for the Roma year-round check out these sites:

I recently finished a book that I’d been reading very inconsistently for months. I was ready to check it off my “need to finish” list, so I finished it. In The Living Church, John Stott outlines 8 basic characteristics of a relevant, biblical church. The last chapter was about the potential impact we have as Christians, and distinctives of those of us who claim to be Christ-followers.

Stott points out that we must be distinct from the world in the way we live, if we claim to follow Christ. The call, he says is to a greater righteousness (one of the heart), to a wider love (loving not just our friends but also our enemies), and to a nobler ambition (seeking God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, not just the stuff we selfishly want). Only in doing these things will our salt retain its saltiness, and our light its brightness.

Do I really live in this way? I think my default is to hang out with other salts and other lights, and tend to become less distinct. No doubt I need fellow Christ-followers to keep me in check. But, do I daily realize the greater, wider, nobler way of life that I’m called to? Do I live a life so distinct that it will dispel darkness and hinder decay? Something to think about…